Sorry, internet issues at home

So I haven't been able to post my current progress. I'm at the church right now so I can give you a quick update.

I made a climbing vine for the chimney side wall. The vine is moss and the leaves are little paper punched stars.

Sandy got some real stockings and leather shoes. Her skin is so pale that I thought she needed the color on her legs. I tried painting first but couldn't get a realistic effect. I cut a bit of real nylon and glued it in place (complete with seams up the back). The leather shoes cover the edges of the stockings and look good, too!

I was on the phone with our telephone provider for almost an hour today trying to add internet to our package. We live in the middle of nowhere and we're right on the edge of the phone company's ability to provide. I'm crossing my fingers but won't know for a couple of days. On the plus side, the representative gave us a better telephone package so at least I'll be saving nearly $30/month. :0)

Harriet has her own ideas

Now that Harriet has been settled in and actually working in her kitchen she decided it was time to make some adjustments. First she wanted some more cabinet space because there just wasn't enough storage. So we found a smaller scale hutch in the drawer and reworked it - took the shelves off and added a bottom to that unit and hung it on the wall. We turned the base upside down, added a new top and bead feet. Then Harriet added some gingham to the doors and at the back of the shelves. Looks great and added the much needed storage. Putting the cupboards in place made the cooker look out of place so that was moved to the opposite wall. Once the green and white cabinet was sitting next to the new cabinets the green looked awful. So out came the blue metallic paint to cover the green. The kitchen is once again functional and Harriet is very happy. She doesn't get grumpy very often but when she is it's best to just do what she asks, lol. The boarders much appreciate it, anyway. ;)

I love this part!

The part that involves filling in all the last details that make a dollhouse look like a home, that is. I built this little upholstered bench with leftover bits from the Brimble, some gingerbread trim and a bit of ribbon.
The coat rack now has a purpose in the foyer with a fedora and an umbrella hanging from it. The hat was cut down from a plastic flocked cowboy hat. I colored it black and added a band and feather accent. The umbrella started as a toy but the handle wasn't long enough. I lengthened it with a toothpick, painted everything and added an umbrella cut from a gray plastic bag.

It's all those little details that really make it look like a real house.

Sandy

It looks like Sandy is just getting home to the boarding house after a long day at her secretarial job. She's a lovely young lady but is still grieving for her fiance who died in the war. She needed to get away from some of the memories and that's why she now lives at Harriet's boarding house.

I spent a long time (for me, lol) making Sandy. I'm very pleased with her suit and her eyes. I'm improving! I studied the doll my friend Brenda made for my saloon - Pansy has beautifully detailed eyes. Sandy's aren't even close to that good but they are a huge improvement over my previous dolls.

Last night I ordered a doll to be George. I recently had a good sale in my etsy shop and rewarded myself. :) I made so many men for the saloon that I just didn't want to make another one. I'm glad I did decide to make Sandy, though.

A few more details

The table is ready for dinner. There must be a guest coming since the table is set for four. The chicken and the jello were made by my friend, Brenda. Gaye of My Small Obsession made the salad, the plates and the pitcher. Gary (in New Hampshire) made the cake stand the jello is on. I made the drinking glasses from lite pegs and I hand cut the silverware and serving pieces from a piece of heavy foil. The cloth napkins are actually pieces of tissue. I glued the silverware to the napkins so I don't lose them - even though the table isn't set correctly. The bubbles in the light pegs make it look like the glasses are filled with ice water.
The glue on the hooks isn't dry yet but I couldn't wait to post a photo of the coat rack. It looks very like the one we had at home. The simple style suits the boarding house, I think.

I was able to check several things off my long list today. This project is coming together quickly. Once DH gets home from his business trip we're gonna have to figure out where in the world this is going to go. It can't sit on my dining room table forever, lol.

It's all in the details

I decided that George has done a lot of world travel. The war put an end to that so for now he's happy with his maps and dreams. You can tell by the labels on his well worn suitcase that he's done a lot of traveling. His open armoire reveals stacks of white shirts and folded trousers. I added some rolled and folded maps to the empty shelf area of the desk. I think this room is finished...maybe.
Harriet has a couple of dresses peeking out of her armoire. They were actually quite fun to make.
I added several plants to the porch. Two green plants in hanging pots, a couple of flowering plants in pots on the steps...
And this overflowing planter under the window. I didn't make the planter but I filled it.
Here's an overview of the whole porch, including the "Johnson's Boarding House" sign. You can also see that I added rose paint to the urn shapes at the top of the posts since my last porch photo. The porch is finished and I'm so happy with the results. It looks like a place I'd like to spend some time in.

Welcome friends!

I've been a bad host and gotten way behind in welcoming our new friends. Thank you all so much for stopping by!
Rosella of ilsalottodellerose - Rosella has minis and needlework posts - all of it is beautiful!
Berri Jones - I don't find a link for Berri
Julita of Villa Caroliina - Julita's blog is fairly new. Stop by and see her dollhouse under construction.
Pepi_mali - I don't find a link
Jenya of Knotty by Nature - Jenya is working on a lovely dollhouse and a Petite Blythe doll just moved in
Rosa Maria of Illustratus - Stop in to see some interesting contemporary art
mini-babies - No link information
Julia & - I think they must have a blog based on the profile information but I couldn't find a link
beckynot - Rebecca doesn't have a blog but you can visit her etsy shop here - http://www.etsy.com/shop/beckynot

As always, please stop by and visit. Thank you all for following!

A good day for antique malls

I had lunch in town with a friend today. Since I was already in town I decided to stop by my favorite antique mall. I found a perfect coffee table for the living room...
...but the best purchase was this crochet square doily. It's a perfect bedspread in Harriet's room. With the addition of the vanity and bench and the box of "memories", Harriet's room is nearly finished. Her adjoining bathroom currently only has a sink and toilet. If I find a smallish clawfoot bathtub (cheap! LOL) I'll add that, too.
Last night I worked on adding light fixtures to many of the rooms. The wall lamp for the blue room is one of my favorites - and it conveniently covers one of the flaws in the wallpaper. ;) I added a few personal belongings to the shelves, too.
The biggest project for today was making this porch swing. It was made with leftovers from the Brimble kit and pieces of gingerbread form the arms. Johnny seems to be enjoying it but I think Wilson is feeling left out.

The basics are finished for the house but I still have a long list of "need to do's."

Living room: area rug, art
Foyer: coat rack - I'm going to model if after the antique one we had at home while I was growing up.
Kitchen: rug for in front of sink, broom and mop
Master bedroom: dresses for the armoire, a handbag and/or hat to put on the bed and maybe some more art
2nd floor hall: finished I think...
Blue bedroom: folded shirts and trousers for the armoire, a few more items for the shelves
Pink bedroom: handbag, shoes, stockings or a nightie
3rd floor hall: a bench
Bathroom: more stuff for the shelves, maybe a drying rack, soap
Porch: lots of plants - both hanging and sitting in pots, a "Johnson's Boarding House" sign
Dolls - Sandy - a young secretary who lost her fiance in the war; George - high school music/band teacher

The dreaded chairs have been conquered

But first, here's a photo of the nightstand table I made for the master bedroom. I used two sizes of wood circles, two buttons and a turned spindle. All painted it looks like carved wood.
Here's the chair to go with the desk. I started filling the desk last night. I still need some other accessories to go with the books and magazines.
And, finally, here are the dining chairs. For both chair styles I used sections of gingerbread to form the chair backs. These chairs are upholstered with a striped fabric with fruit. The rug also has fruit on it. All of the food and the plates were made by my friends, Gaye (of My Small Obsession) and Brenda.

I am definitely improving some skills while working on this house. Working with what I have while filling such a large house has made thinking outside the box a necessity. But that's the type of challenge I love. Thank you so much for all of your comments. I really enjoy reading your thoughts and ideas.

Hubby's away and I spent the day in play

I made this dresser to match the other furniture. The basic structure is a Dove soap box. The drawers were made with leftover logs from my log cabin.
I finished the upper hall wallpaper last night. By using a solid I could keep the better parts of the existing wallpaper. The mirror is a scrapbook sticker and the table is part of a House of Miniatures table kit. It's really cool. The table is made of three separate parts so you can use them all together, each independently or put the half rounds together to form a round table. I used each piece separately.
The blue bedroom needs a lot of accessories. The furniture turned out well, though. The brass headboard was made with the plastic leftover from a couple of Chrysnbon kits. The desk was made with part of a Michael's hutch and some other miscellaneous bits. I need to make a chair to match and fill the shelves. This boarder is the music/band teacher at the local high school. He also plays in a local orchestra. There's a piece of classical sheet music on the desk and his French horn is on the bed.
The master bedroom needs to be personalized a bit, too. There are family photos on the wall, a basket for the cat on the floor and the slightly worn rocking chair that the children and grandchildren were rocked to sleep in. On the other side of the bed is a table I made for a nightstand. I'll post a photo tomorrow of it -it's really pretty. :)
I made big progress on this room today. The tables are part of the HOM kit I mentioned earlier. The sofa is another House of Miniatures kit. I used my fabric instead of the solid blue that comes with the kit. After making the sofa, I used the pattern outlines to make a chair from foam core board. The table between the sofa and chair is a Chrysnbon kit. On the short wall next to the fireplace is a radio. The fireplace surround was made completely from scratch with a mishmash of wood bits. I added the columns today. I probably need an area rug, maybe a coffee table, accessories, and at least 4 chairs for the dining table. So, including the desk chair, I need to make at least 5 chairs. You all know how I feel about making chairs, lol.

I need ideas for items to put in the blue room for the music teacher. He must have some other hobbies - he has put a world map over his bed so maybe he's interested in travel. I should also make some folded shirts and trousers for the shelves in his armoire.

The master bedroom armoire has a hanging rod. I need to make some mini dresses to hang in it.

Oh, and I've made a decision. I think I'll name the lady who rents the pink room Sandra or Sandy. I've called Harriet, "Harriet" since I made her. Sandra just doesn't fit her but she's perfect for the boarding house owner.

A bedroom and a bathroom

This is one of the boarder's rooms. I got the shelf, tables, and bench from a round robin swap box. I made the bed from scratch to match. I peeled a few stickers off the bench to make the bed match and then antiqued everything. The bench cushion matches the bedspread.
This room turned out really well. The medicine cabinet, wall shelf and rug came with the house. The toilet is one of those bright orange ones I got free at a garage sale. I painted it with enamel paint that you bake to set. The sink cabinet is the bottom of a wood stove and the sink is a contact lense package. The bathtub was cut from a Spam can.

I have to accessorize both rooms but I got a good start on the main pieces today.

Some progress on the boarding house

This is the foyer just after I got the house (after cleaning). There was a lot of tacky wax that just would not come off the wallpaper completely. I thought I would have to completely rewallpaper but...
I was able to salvage the lower half and just repapered over the upper part with a coordinating paper. I still need to add artwork and a bit of furniture but it already looks very welcoming. The new wallpaper is a sample of 1:1 scale paper. The soft colors look very nice with the existing blue print. The rug was in my drawer of "gonna use some day" minis.
This was the kitchen. I really like this wallpaper but it wasn't in good shape at all. There had been contemporary cabinets hung with wax and when removed (before I got the house) they left a big mess and some of the paper was torn.
Again I used 1:1 samples to wallpaper. The lower paper is supposed to represent tiles. The kitchen was furnished so quickly because I moved Harriet, her grandchildren, their dog, and all of the furnishings from Harriet's breadbox kitchen into this kitchen. All I had to do was put a new skirt on the sink to make it all look good in here. Oh, and Harriet told me last night (after thanking me - she hasn't had a bedroom or bathroom in years, lol) that Harriet is actually her middle name. Her first name is Sandra. Her mother's name was also Sandra so Harriet was called by her middle name.) Her grandchildren, Tess and Johnny, brought their dog, Wilson, over and are now getting a treat from Grandma. :)

Many of the little items in the kitchen have been made by friends. I have some wonderfully talented online mini friends!

I'm too old for an all-nighter but the house looks great!

I didn't mean to stay up until 3:30 am. In fact, I was quite surprised to see the time when I finally looked at the clock. The result, though, is a nearly finished exterior. I want to add a porch swing to the side porch and some more plants in pots. The original builder used such a bold color on the house. I think the accent colors really enhance the main color.
Here's a closer view of the front porch. Isn't the stained glass fabulous?
The little bench and the planters came with the house. The bench was painted the same color as the house. I painted the ends to look like wrought iron and added a crackled layer of vintage white to the bench.

The new house!

The exterior color is much more green than it appears in the photo. It's close to a seafoam.
I look a little demonic in this pic - hubby says I just look ecstatic, lol. I got the interior cleaned this afternoon and figured out which wallpapers are salvageable - everything on the third floor, the master bedroom/bath on the second, and the living room on the first. Unfortunately, the two hallways with the stairs both have to be repapered. I am not looking forward to that at all!
This will be the color scheme. Hubby helped with choosing the colors. I think it will be very pretty - just don't know what colors will go where yet.

Oh, and this house is going to be a boarding house, post WWII. The original builder of the house, Sandy, died unexpectedly in a car accident. I'm going to name the homeowner Sandra in her memory.

And the winner is...

I put all the names in hubby's hat.
He was my "lovely assistant" and drew the name out of the hat.
And the winner is Miltonia, aka Kaisa. Kaisa please email me your mailing information and I will get your bed and dresser off in the mail to you. Congratulations! And thank you to all who follow my blog and all who participated in the drawing.

See, he really does have pretty eyes

I added a ring of darker blue around the light blue iris so his eyes stand out more. Click on the photo to enlarge it.

Give away reminder

If you have been a follower since September 11 or before you are eligible for this give away. Today is the last day to sign up by commenting on the post at this link. I will draw the winning name tomorrow. Good luck!

New character in the saloon

Meet Matt Larson. His eyes look a bit demonic in the photo, lol. He just has very light blue eyes. He actually has some of the best eyes I've done. I guess you'll just have to take my word for it. ;)
Jake finally has someone to play pool with. One more customer and I'll have equal number of staff and customers. A friend is making another cowboy when her life settles a little. I think I could use a fur trader, too. Gotta think about that one for a bit.

New Dollhouse Coming Soon

I was offered a free completed dollhouse this week - a DuraCraft Farmhouse 505. It's beautiful! Hubby and I are taking a road trip tomorrow to pick it up. Stay tuned...

The photos were taken by the current owner.

And now for the real welcome!

I have many new followers to welcome.
*Marta y Carla - I didn't see a blog link so please comment if you do have one you'd like me to mention.
*Kaisa (aka Miltonia) is a new miniaturist but you couldn't tell by her lovely creations. Her blog is Something Tiny
*gshoney - again I didn't find a blog link.
*Mari of Il Cucchiaino Magico. Mari appears to make a variety of beautiful minis.
*Eva does not appear to have a blog.
*Marisa's blog is Steinworks. It appears to be about various aspects of her life, including crafting.
*Smilgos seems to enjoy a variety of needlework. See her pretty creations at Smilgos namai.

I also found some people at the end of the followers list with no photos. I'd like to welcome them, too. Elena of Omsk, Russia; dlctickner; catgray; Cat; Melissa - I'm not sure if I've already welcomed some of you or not. Sometimes I forget to check the end of the list when I see new followers. I'm sorry! Thank you for stopping by.

Thank you all so much for following. It wasn't all that long ago when I was certain I would never find 10 people interested in seeing my minis. Now there are 208 of you! I've met many wonderful, mini-minded people through this blog. I'm so glad I took a chance and started writing. :) And, please, as always, stop in and see the lovely blogs linked above.

Welcome!

I'm sorry that I've fallen behind on my welcomes. If you've recently become a follower, thank you so much. I don't have time right now to post links but I will try to do that later this week. I really appreciate all of you who take time to read and comment.

Give away reminder

Remember to leave a post here to enter the give away for the bed and chest. Please read over the rules. You need to have been a follower by September 11 in order to be part of the drawing as I want to thank those who have been following my blog for awhile. I welcome all new followers, though, and I promise there will be other drawings. This is the 5th one I've had and I've only been blogging for a year and a half. So please continue to stop by. There will be other chances to participate if you just started following. Thank you all so much for taking the time to look at my projects!

Rooms for sale!

I just listed three room boxes in my etsy shop. The doctor's office has been redone in a smaller, lighter box. I also listed a Christmas room and a nursery with a Heidi Ott baby.